build a brave new foundry close to home
by yumi michiyo
Summary: Quinn makes a split-second decision which changes the lives of everyone around her. A canon divergence AU in which she keeps Beth. Family fluff fic. Oneshot.


**Author's Notes:** This fic exists because I had a burning need to read something heartwarming and tooth-rottingly sweet. All mistakes in canon details and continuity are my own. Wildly AU from season 1 onwards; if it's not mentioned, it doesn't exist in this universe.

* * *

 _Claim the truth that gets lost_  
 _In the miles of memory and open folds_  
 _So change these rules and let's cross_  
 _All the sacred boundaries we've overgrown_  
 _Build a brave new foundry close to home_

Vienna Teng's _Close to Home_

* * *

Nine months of tears, heartbreak, drama (and there was more than their fair share of that) and the result is lying in a hospital bassinet in front of them.

"She looks like you," says Puck, sounding awed. "… Do you wanna keep her?"

"No." Her answer is immediate. She can't be weighed down, not when she has so much going for her, when she can still reclaim what she's lost – but she feels she needs to ask his opinion. "Do you?"

He's about to answer. But then Shelby comes over, and she feels Puck stiffen beside her.

Quinn is watching Shelby warily and almost misses it. She can't help the little gasp that escapes her when the baby girl peeks a hand out of her pink blanket and sort of flails it around. It's ridiculous, but she knows the Fabray Prom Queen wave when she sees it – she can't help being sentimental, she just gave birth – and in that moment, she falls hopelessly in love with that tiny baby.

Shelby says something. That's all Quinn is aware of, along with Puck's warm arm around her shoulders – comforting, without presuming too much into their relationship (they made that perfect bundle over there and that's all that ever happened, and will happen between them). But now Shelby's staring longingly at her little girl, and something flares into life, deep in her belly.

"We're keeping her," says Quinn. Puck's hand tightens over her arm in his surprise, but he doesn't say a word – she shoots him a quick 'I'll-explain-later' glance out of the corner of her eye. Shelby looks a little surprised, but she clamps her lips together and nods, a very Rachel Berry-esque gesture. Or should that be the other way around, given that she's Rachel's biological mother? Quinn doesn't care to pursue that thought. All she cares about now is her daughter – god, even thinking it makes her stomach flutter.

Her daughter. No longer the baby bump, or the drunken mistake, or the reason she couldn't fit into her pageant dresses. Hers.

Shelby takes her leave, looking disappointed. Quinn doesn't really care.

"Care to tell me what just happened, Fabray?" Puck mutters lowly in her ear.

Theirs.

Quinn takes a calming breath. "I couldn't – she's still ours, Puck." The rest of what she wants to say – she's perfect, I can't just give her away, I need to be there for her – is jumbled up inside her. "We can't – you know."

He seems to understand. "Okay," he says, nodding slowly, squeezing her shoulder. "We'll be there for her. I'm not going anywhere, Quinn. We'll figure this out."

And she's told herself she'd never believe anything he says after "trust me", but as she leans her head against his shoulder, she finds herself nodding.

* * *

Quinn doesn't have time to realise what she's done until she's at home with a hastily-put-together roomful of baby things, complete with a wailing baby. "This is a mistake," she says tearfully, too numb with exhaustion to protest when Judy eases Beth out of her arms.

"What? No, no." Puck wraps his arms around her. "We're gonna be just fine. All three of us."

"You and me – we're not enough. We're – we haven't finished high school yet. We need a job to take care of her properly." Puck frowns. They're barely old enough to take care of themselves, let alone this tiny baby. Quinn looks away, trying to fight down the wave of panic that rises in her gut.

Rachel changes their future for them. She picks this serendipitous moment to show up on Quinn's doorstep, Glee club in tow. They exchange awkward hellos with a flabbergasted Quinn and Puck, settling in the living room. Judy looks at her daughter, at all of them, back at Quinn, and then makes her quiet exit with Beth.

"Rachel, what – " begins Quinn, too startled to use one of her nicknames.

"Emergency Glee club meeting," says Rachel. "You agreed to it last week."

The summer has blurred together into an indistinguishable mess for Quinn thanks to Beth's feeding schedule and she doesn't remember anything about a meeting let alone agreeing to one, but she nods anyway, looking exhausted. "Why, though? We already lost."

"… Though I said this is a Glee club meeting…This isn't really about Glee. And by Glee, I mean singing."

Everyone exchanges surprised looks – apparently they're also unaware of the agenda. From the amused twitch of Puck's lip, Quinn guesses that Rachel simply browbeat them into showing up today. Nothing too unusual, then.

Rachel's blushing as she avoids all of their gazes, setting up her PowerPoint slides. "We – that is, the Glee club," she says with a flourish, "volunteer to help you and Puck look after Beth."

"… What?"

"I'll come up with a babysitting schedule so we can all attend classes. She won't be left unattended during school hours." Rachel still looks a little flushed. "Some of us who are willing may drop by after school so you two can do your homework. I've got advance copies of our class schedules for next year, so I just need a few days – "

"Wait. You know our class schedules for next year?" asks Kurt, a little alarmed.

"I worked in the school's administrative office last summer. I may or may not have called in a few favours. This is quite a pressing matter, after all," says Rachel, the colour of her face deepening. Kurt nods, looking stupefied. Outwardly, nothing else happens, but the club's perception of her shifts significantly from Rachel Berry, Queen of the Slushies, to Rachel Berry, Mafia Don. "Anyway, that's not important. Your mom will be working, so Beth can't stay at home," she addresses Quinn, "and you and Puck are not dropping out to take care of her."

"So the solution is to force everyone to babysit our daughter?" It's the first time Quinn has referred to Beth as such out loud, and it fills her middle with a warm satisfying feeling despite the tidal wave of emotion she is experiencing in this moment. Puck must feel it too, because he's curled an arm around her waist.

"I don't know who's false, but I'm real," chirps Brittany, "and I definitely wanna help." The rest echo their assent. Santana folds her arms across her chest and huffs, which is translated as a yes by Brittany. Rachel claps her hands together, looking delighted, but she doesn't squeal as Quinn is half-expecting her to. They smile, watching Quinn and Puck carefully as they wait for a response.

Puck shrugs. "You guys – just, thanks. I really appreciate you offering to do this for us." He glances at Finn. "Quinn?"

It's not fair, how he pushes the decision to her. Quinn sucks in a deep breath, conscious of everyone's eyes on her. "I guess we could try it," she offers eventually. Amidst whoops of excitement, she adds in a louder voice: "But if it doesn't work out…"

Rachel's the one that dislodges herself from the noise to place a cautious hand on Quinn's arm. "Thank you for letting us try anyway," she says earnestly, and the blonde girl wonders what she's done to deserve someone like Rachel Berry in her life. But outwardly she nods, and gives Rachel a small smile.

"Excellent. Once school starts up and all the schedules are finalized, I'll make a copy for everyone."

"So help me, if my schedule is neon pink with glitter, Rachel Barbra Berry…" says Kurt.

She scowls. "Excuse me for only wanting to make it aesthetically pleasing."

Santana snorts. "Oh please, Berry, you wouldn't know aesthetically pleasing if it bit you in the – "

"Thank you, Santana," says Quinn loudly.

"Girl, I don't care what colour the schedule is, just as long as it works." Mercedes is cradling Beth – and where has she come from? – and it looks so natural. Brittany has her chin on Mercedes' shoulder, making cooing noises at the baby while she giggles. Kurt looks a little apprehensive, but he's smiling as he wiggles his fingers at Beth.

"Agreed, Mercedes." Rachel claps her hands together. "Any further questions?"

Tina raises a tentative hand. "Do we have to be alone with Beth? I mean – not that I don't want to, or anything like that, but some of us don't have much experience with babies." At this, most of the guys get a panicked expression.

"Not unless you're confident," says Rachel. "Some of us, understandably, are less experienced with caring for babies than others, so I'll be taking that into account when drawing up the schedule. Please rest assured that no one will be forced into an uncomfortable or awkward situation, and that Beth will be well-looked after."

Voices are raised with varying degrees of panic. Amidst the chaos, Quinn catches Finn's eye; after a moment, he smiles. She smiles back.

They come up with a system of sorts, and Beth Fabray-Puckerman becomes the youngest-ever person to attend McKinley High (Rachel works her witchcraft in the administrative records, citing it as valuable experience for future roles).

* * *

A day in the life of Beth Fabray-Puckerman:

 **3.28am:** Beth won't stop crying. Quinn is close to joining her, because she'd only gone to bed three hours before because she was catching up on her homework. Luckily Judy Fabray saves the day, demonstrating her years of experience raising two daughters by successfully soothing the grandbaby and calming her older baby.

 **6.49am:** The Fabray household tiptoes around as they get ready for work/school – Beth's finally sleeping soundly and they don't want to wake her. Puck comes round to meet them. Quinn chooses a patterned one-piece (courtesy of Kurt Hummel, Fairy Godfather – Puck's words, not hers) that has a unpronounceable brand name.

 **8.23am:** Artie has her for the first period of the day. Quinn hands him the bag of baby things, talking nonstop about the things he should and shouldn't do, and what Beth means when she makes certain sounds. Puck gives him a fistbump and a casual warning not to do what he wouldn't. Quinn and Puck kiss Beth goodbye, telling her to behave. He has Beth strapped in her baby seat in his lap and he gives her the tour of the McKinley hallways as her personal taxi. She gurgles excitedly, waving her arms and legs, and he tells her she'll rule the school one day, just like her parents.

 **9.02am:** Brittany and Santana take charge of Beth next. (By unspoken unanimous agreement, they don't schedule Santana alone with the baby.) Brittany entertains her with stories that actually contain age-inappropriate content, but from Brittany's perspective have been recast with rainbows and unicorns and cats with wings. It's disturbingly charming. Santana watches Brittany fondly the whole time. The blonde swears the fond look is directed at Beth now and then.

 **10.36am:** Kurt and Mercedes have big plans for Beth today. They smuggle her into study hall – Beth tucked into the front of Kurt's Harvey Nichols blazer – and try to get her to decide once and for all which is the best outfit on Project Runway this season. She drools over his blazer and he doesn't care, because she kicked her legs when he showed her the maroon leather one-piece, and he's pleased by her good taste. Mercedes accuses them both of being colour-blind. Beth defuses the catfight by whimpering for her bottle. They take turns to feed and burp her (Kurt refuses to look at the contents of the bottle because it would mean acknowledging its origins). They bounce ideas off each other about designer babywear and feeding accessories, Beth offering the occasional comment in the form of gurgles and squeals.

 **11.42am:** Finn and Mike are panicking because Beth stops being the well-behaved girl she normally course, it has to be one of the rare periods where there isn't a girl around to use her maternal instinct to help them. Bouncing around in Mike's arms doesn't help. Finn sings to her but it only makes her wail louder. In desperation, they kidnap an unhappy Quinn from her Social Studies class. She teaches them how to rock a baby to sleep, and smiles at the look of sheer amazement on Mike's face when Beth calms in his arms.

 **12.30pm:** The Glee club doesn't eat in the cafeteria anymore; it's too noisy and rowdy. Will has installed a crib that he produced out of nowhere in the choir room ("Don't ask," he says wryly) so now they form a loose circle in the choir room, the sleeping baby in the middle, and swap battle stories. Quinn looks mildly horrified when Brittany recaps some of her stories for them (amidst stifled laughter from the others), silently thanking the powers that be that Beth is still too young to understand any of it. She does, however, hope it won't manifest as some weird portion of her subconscious later in life.

Beth wakes up halfway through lunch. Rachel hasn't seen her all morning, so she gamely takes on the job of entertaining the baby, making silly faces at her over her vegan wrap. The rest of the club also finds them hilarious, though they're better at hiding their laughter. Out of all of them, Rachel has the strongest maternal instinct (ironically), though it borders on an unhealthy obsession with Beth.

 **1.24pm:** Beth stays awake throughout Rachel's slot, much to the older girl's delight. She convinces Brad to play Mozart because she's heard that classical music aids in developing baby brains. Brad's just happy he doesn't have to whip up an instant accompaniment to whatever the crazy kids decide to sing. Surprising everyone, Lauren stays with them and spends most of the time deflecting Rachel's attempts at conversation.

 **2.34pm:** Quinn and Tina spend their slot feverishly reading in the library. Quinn heard somewhere that babies shouldn't be exposed to too many people in the formative first year of life. She's really hoping it isn't true, because she loves her daughter and she doesn't want to screw her life up because she was too selfish to give her up for adoption. They don't find anything that conclusively proves or disproves the theory, but they have fun discussing the arguments – until it gets too heated and they all get thrown out of the library. They end up in the cafeteria feeding Beth while the lunch ladies coo over her.

 **3.12pm:** The Glee club files in for practice. Puck practically flies to Beth, closely followed by Rachel, and then Brittany. The rest are much less demonstrative, but definitely aren't lacking in affection; Beth revels in the nonstop kisses and cuddles from her not-really teenage parents before they surrender her to Mr. Schue. They all defer to him as the adult, even Quinn and Puck, although he hasn't much experience with babies (he did a little research during the Terri fiasco but he isn't an authority). Beth spends the rest of the practice bouncing in Mr. Schue's lap while he turns a blind eye to the little flourishes the kids add to the choreography for Beth's entertainment.

 **4.58pm:** Puck and Quinn take Beth to Puck's house to spend quality time with Grandma Ruth and Aunt Sarah, together with hanger-ons Mercedes and Kurt. Honestly, Ruth still doesn't approve of Quinn, but having her son home early and not impregnating any more teenage girls is still a huge improvement. She, however, reserves comment on the black girl and rather effeminate young man getting into a heated argument with Quinn over the appropriateness of dressing up a four-month-old baby in designer wear.

 **5.26pm:** Rachel drops by after her ballet class with Finn in tow. By this time, Puck and Quinn have dozed off on opposite ends of the couch, Dora the Explorer playing unwatched on the television (Beth is too young to appreciate Dora but they don't know what else to watch). Mercedes and Kurt have abandoned bickering about fashion and are doing their homework. Kurt is glad to push it to one side to start a discussion with Rachel about possible songs they can use in Glee, as well as their suitability for solos in said songs. Finn and Mercedes – surprisingly – get along well after it transpires that she's pretty good at explaining algebra in a way he gets.

 **7.12pm:** Quinn awakes with a guilty start when the smell of food fills the air. Mercedes and Kurt have left for home already; they've left behind a set of study notes for Quinn. She laughs when she sees the ridiculous doodles in the margins, signed by Mike, Tina, and Artie. Ruth has left for work and Sarah has disappeared up to her room, so Rachel and Finn have made a food run to get Chinese takeout for them all. They eat in relative silence, huddled around the kitchen table, in surprisingly comfortable silence despite their history. Beth, already displaying a knack for recognizing teenage drama at her age, wails for attention. Puck fetches her from her chair, rocking her in the crook of one arm while the other continues to shovel chow mein into his mouth.

 **8.05pm:** Much to everyone's surprise, Finn offers to take the baby so the other three can do their homework; he did his earlier, with Mercedes' help. There will always be that tiny jolt of apprehension everytime she sees Finn with Beth; this is the boy that almost became Beth's father because she couldn't trust Puck. She's already aware of this side of him – he sang to a freaking ultrasound, for God's sake – but it doesn't get any less heartwarming to watch. She's so glad her mistakes didn't destroy their relationship completely.

 **9.24pm:** Rachel bullies Finn into giving Beth to her the instant she finishes her work. She tries to persuade Quinn to bring her over to her house for dinner next week (she insists it's because her fathers miss having a baby girl around to dote on but the besotted expression she wears just for Beth makes it clear her fathers aren't the only Berrys hopelessly in love).

 **10.14pm:** Puck drives Quinn and Beth back to Quinn's house while Finn sends Rachel back – it took the boys a while to talk Rachel out of insisting Finn send them all home "because we shouldn't overly inconvenience Noah and your car is big enough for us, Finn". Together they settle Beth for the night, Puck kissing both his girls good night before heading back (cheek kisses only – they're not ready to sort out whatever is between them yet).

 **11.38pm:** Thanks to the study guides and notes the others have prepared for her, Quinn calls it a night early. Actually, she dozes off on her bed, surrounded by her books. She needs what sleep she can snatch.

* * *

Between two harassed teenage parents, ten babysitters-cum-aunts-slash-uncles, and two adults (of course Mr. Schue gets Miss Pillsbury to help), they manage junior year alright. Quinn becomes Prom Queen, Finn wins Prom King, and Puck's prom date is baby Beth. She gets to wear Quinn's tiara anyway, as the real queen. Kurt brings Blaine to prom. He's a nice boy who, unsurprisingly, is most terrified of making a bad impression on Beth. She chews on his lapel while he slow dances with her, and Kurt gets watery-eyed imagining Blaine dancing with their kid someday.

Quinn would tell him to stop being so far-fetched, but then again, she would have never seen herself in this position a year ago; Prom Queen, with a Prom Princess of her own.

They all take turns dancing with Beth, and the teachers – even Sue Sylvester – turns a blind eye to the fact that there's a baby at a high school Junior Prom. In the event that someone would check, there's a student record file in the office belonging to a Beth Fabray-Puckerman, and all enrolled McKinley High students are allowed to attend prom.

Stranger things have happened at McKinley anyway.

* * *

Senior year goes off without a hitch. Sugar Motta isn't quite aunt material, but she quickly claims the vacant spot of Cool Big Sister and showers Beth with expensive but inappropriate gifts, ranging from MAC makeup to a pink feather boa. Quinn and Puck confiscate most of the items.

Rory is shy with her, but Quinn spots them together one afternoon in the choir room, crooning Irish lullabies with Finn.

Joe reads to her from whatever he has on him at that moment. His repertoire ranges from Junior Scripture to – hilariously – Goodnight Moon (it's a book most of them have in common). He lets her tug on his dreads, something which bothers Puck because "daddy's hair should be the coolest hair around".

Shelby Corcoran drops by a lot. In another world, Quinn and Puck might have let the older woman adopt Beth since she's better able to care for a baby – her past with Rachel notwithstanding – but here she smiles and compliments them on raising such a happy, healthy baby girl.

Sam quickly takes over as Most Capable Parent from Rachel. Besides having the best parenting instincts (and much less crazy than Rachel), he's also cared for his two younger siblings while his parents were out working. Beth adores him and his easy manner. Even Rachel grudgingly agrees it's hard to stay mad at him for usurping her place when he has this soppy smile and is bouncing Beth. Sam, on his part, cheerfully agrees to adhere to Rachel's Gold Star life master plan for Beth (it involves a rigorous training programme designed to make Beth Queen of the World, as he describes it).

"Should we be concerned?" asks Quinn.

Puck shrugs. "There's only two of them. The rest of our normal should outweigh their influence on Beth," he says, earning a dirty look from Rachel.

* * *

Rachel and Finn aren't engaged, and they definitely aren't rushing to get married after winning Sectionals. Helping to raise a baby has made them more mature and they recognize they aren't ready for everything that marriage entails; what with Finn blowing off his scheduled babysitting slot to play _Call of Duty_ , and Rachel having to plan both her summer classes and time for Beth.

Quinn wouldn't have approved regardless. In another time and place, things would have ended quite badly for her, but here and now she's at home with Puck and Beth, absently humming the theme song from _Dora the Explorer_.

* * *

If Quinn had ever thought the Fabray house would be too big and empty for herself and her mother, she hadn't counted on Beth and her entourage.

On any given school night, here's what the Fabray house looks like:

Puck is currently snoozing on the couch, a bag of chips still balanced on his stomach. He drove Quinn and Beth home from school and was supposed to mind the baby while Quinn does her homework, papers strewn over the dining table. Finn's puzzling over his economics homework; Rachel was supposed to be helping, but she's abandoned him for babysitting duty together with Kurt. They sing snatches of lullabies and children's songs, practically squealing with delight when Beth 'joins in' (to Quinn, she's just making random sounds but she doesn't want to argue with the pair).

Judy Fabray comes home after work to find five teenagers passed out in her living room, and a wide-awake baby cooing at her.

* * *

They win Nationals. How could they not, with their mascot staring up at them with such adoring eyes, clapping her hands in delight when they sing and dance for her, straining for each of them while calling their names?

Even Jesse St. James, as convinced of his team's superiority as he is, can't help but proclaim that they are no match for New Directions' lead singer and mascot, though he does think Beth would live up to her full performing potential as a future member of Vocal Adrenaline.

Rachel flings the closest thing on hand at him – Beth's pacifier – and the look on Jesse's face when it unerringly sails through the air and bounces off his forehead is something they all recall fondly even decades later.

* * *

Quinn gets into Yale – and every other school in the Ivy League. She's offered scholarship after scholarship; they can't resist the story of a teenage mother who is raising her baby with her baby's father (though they aren't together) yet manages to be part of two national champion teams and graduates salutatorian to boot.

She picks NYU, much to the delight of Rachel and Kurt. They were terrified that she would have chosen Yale, and they would have to journey out to New Haven every time they wanted to see baby Beth.

Puck goes with Quinn to New York. There was never any question. He'll do whatever it takes to keep his two girls in his life.

They find a massive loft in Bushwick that can accommodate all five of them. Rachel exercises her timetabling skills – though this time it's a feat less taxing than syncing twelve teenagers' class schedules two years ago – and comes up with a workable schedule that marries NYADA and NYU class schedules, and Puck's ad-hoc construction job.

Though the others have scattered to different parts of the country (and some, like Brittany, haven't budged), they manage to keep in touch via Skype. They're no longer aunts and uncles but godparents now. Even Santana has warmed up to the baby; there was a memorable afternoon during spring break when Brittany got the entire Glee club to hide behind the door and spy on Santana cooing at Beth in the most ridiculous voice they've ever heard her use.

It takes them a week to be able to keep a straight face around Santana after that.

* * *

Beth turns four. She can say all of their names properly now, and she enjoys the sappy looks they give her when she does. The turnout at the party is ridiculously high as they converge on Quinn's house in Lima. New and old Glee club members alike shower Beth with presents, and she charms them all.

Beth doesn't bat an eyelid when new people are introduced to her because they all adore her just the same. But Quinn and Puck are always Mama and Daddy. She doesn't understand the concept of birth parents yet, but it really doesn't matter, not with this particular family.

* * *

Years from now, when they aren't teenagers with a baby anymore but respectable adults who are unusually close to a grade school-age kid, the family gets bigger. Beth attends more weddings and gets to wear more flouncy dresses than any other girl her age, making her the object of envy. Quinn jokes that she should have starred in _27 Dresses_ instead of Katherine Heigl – Puck comments that being an eternal bridesmaid is better than being a teenage mom. Quinn nearly kills him.

Beth's summers are more hectic than your average Hollywood star's. She'll spend a week in Lima with Rachel's dads (they jokingly call her their placeholder grandchild while they're waiting for Rachel). Los Angeles with Mercedes and Sam. Chicago with Mike and Tina. She has multiple holiday homes in New York alone; Kurt and Blaine's apartment in Queens, New Jersey with Santana and Brittany, Finn's auto shop in Brooklyn (a branch of the original Hummel shop in Lima, Ohio), Puck's construction company in the Bronx, and of course, the Bushwick loft that will always be home.

Home itself is a noisy affair. She lives with her Mom and Daddy but Rachel is a near-constant fixture thanks to her erratic work schedule and Finn's packed one. Between the constant battles over food (much to her parents' disappointment and Rachel's delight, she's vegetarian), singing (the only Broadway songs they all tolerate are the ones Rachel's singing at the moment), and religion (Puck insists his Jewish princesses outnumber Quinn), they somehow make it work.

But in many other ways, things haven't changed.

Kurt still buys her designer clothing because "I'd sooner hang myself with my Armani silk tie than let Rachel Berry influence your fashion sense, honey". He's also managed to maintain a surprisingly close friendship with Quinn despite their quarrels over age-appropriate branded clothing. He's the person she consults with regards to her budding interest in makeup and beauty regimes ("And I thank Versace for that daily, honey").

Blaine teaches her to play the piano; more specifically, he lets her mangle Chopsticks on the keys of his prized Steinway and applauds without a hint of irony. He and Rachel are the vice-president and president, respectively, of Beth's own fan club. They attend every event she has (even the ones that aren't really, like her third grade spelling bee).

Mike still picks her up and whirls her around the room even though she's halfway up his chest now. She's the star of her jazz dance class thanks to his and Brittany's coaching.

Brittany still tells her stories about fabulous creatures (she's old enough to understand the subject matter, though, and wonders what sane adult left her in Brittany's care as a baby). Beth is the main reason Brittany uses when pushing Santana to start a family of their own.

Santana likes to pretend she couldn't care less about her, although her marshmallow core is an open secret by now. Beth learns cool things that no one else will teach her, like how to make boys and girls alike do her bidding, and how to utilize her Mexican psychic third eye. She's eagerly awaiting her sixteenth birthday because that's when Santana promised to teach her how to hide razor blades in her hair (her parents don't know, of course. It's their little secret).

Tina sends her books on all sorts of things. They've joined a Book-of-the-Month club, and Skype regularly to discuss them. Beth has convinced Quinn and Puck to let her dye her hair when she gets older (her main argument was that bad hair decisions run in the family; she's seen photos of Quinn's punk phase and Puck's mohawk, courtesy of Tina).

Finn teaches her to play the drums and change a tire. Like Kurt, she'll have nothing but fond memories of grease and coveralls for the rest of her life, as well as special ones of her own: riding on his shoulders for the best view of the Fourth of July fireworks. Jamming with Puck and Artie (she played the drums, Finn helped). His awed expression when she surprised him and Rachel on their anniversary with a handmade card.

Artie still takes her for rides on his chair when he meets her for their monthly Saturday lunch dates, wheeling fast enough to make her squeal, and together they cackle maniacally when people jump out of their way. He always tells her she's getting too big for his lap, and that next year she'll have to carry him on her lap instead (she ignores him because he's been saying that since she was five). They're a menace to the streets of New York.

Rory sends her a postcard on her birthday and Christmas Day, always with leprechauns on them. He tells her to say hi to Brittany for him.

Sugar still sends her inappropriate gifts. Quinn had to send the title deed to her own tropical island back, much to Puck and Beth's disappointment.

Although she was raised in multiple faiths, Joe sends her Bible verses and uplifting quotes. She always shares those with Quinn.

Lauren showed up to Beth's eighth birthday, much to the surprise of everyone else. Her birthday gift was a wrestling DVD which Quinn itched to confiscate and Puck heartily approved of.

Wherever Mercedes goes, she always dedicates a song to Beth. She even did it when performing at the White House, making Beth a minor celebrity for a while.

Sam has always had this special bond with her. He sends her his webcomic about the continuing adventures of Blonde Chameleon and Queen Bee, listens to all her problems ("At your age, we boys think everything is gross, Bee. They won't see how awesome you are until you're a bit older")and explains complicated things like why boys can't take hints.

Even Will and Emma keep in touch. They make it a yearly tradition to congregate back at McKinley High's choir room on the anniversary of the club's founding. Beth has a great time explaining to every year's freshman batch of New Directions why she's the youngest-ever person enrolled at McKinley.

And of course:

Rachel has been the quintessential Asian tiger mom (the term was only coined recently, but everyone agrees that Rachel basically invented the concept) since she was born. She's protected Beth with the doggedness of someone who's been hurt too many times. She's believed in Beth's innate talents ("She's a Fabray. Excellence is in her genes. And you can do anything when you set your mind to it, Noah.") and supported her in every venture she took up (even the ill-advised horse riding lessons; Rachel doesn't feel comfortable around anything twice as tall as she is, but she made an admirable effort). She's more than earned the title of Mom – after Quinn, of course.

Rachel is the one with huge dreams in a tiny body, and she's never stopped being an inspiration to Beth.

(She thinks that one day, she'd like to be on Broadway just like Rachel, if just to see her react with that hysterical crying-screaming thing that is unique to the Berrys but freaks the rest of her family out.)

Puck was too young to be her father, but he fills the gap between Cool Big Bro and Daddy just fine. He teaches her how to play the guitar and to stand her ground against the school bully "since no one pushes a Puckerman around" and that she's never too old or too badass to need a cuddle.

Quinn did a lot of growing up with Beth, and so they understand each other just fine. Quinn knows not to push when Beth spends all weekend crying in her room after her classmates made fun of her for having a "weird" family. Quinn simply held her and told her, over and over again, that she would always be her daughter, and that her parents ( _all of them_ , she said emphatically, and that made Beth smile) would love her just the same no matter what she does.

(Beth later learns why it's such a big thing for Quinn.)

Quinn was the most composed of them all, amidst Rachel's near-hysteria and Puck's proud exclamations, Kurt's bawling and Finn's million-watt grin, but she was practically glowing with pride when Beth Fabray-Puckerman graduated valedictorian of her high school with a place at Harvard that fall.

Beth waves shyly to her family ("The Fabray Prom Queen wave," thinks Quinn, and starts to tear up despite herself) as she waits for the crowd to settle down. "There are many ways to describe family," she begins her valedictorian speech, "but the thing that defines family is love." She smiles back at the sea of familiar beaming faces.


End file.
